Keyboard for calculating machines



Aug. 15, 1944. R FIGLE 2,355,637

KEYBOARD FOR CALCULATING MACHINES Filed July 1, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 1 .H f' .f /fl .H /l 9- da d; d: d: di u u' n y l u u if if R. FAlGLE KEYBOARD FO CALCULATING MACHINES Aug. 15, 1944.

Filed July 1, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 HMH Patented Aug. 15, 1944 KEYBOARD FOR CALCULATING MACHINES Rene Faigle, Zurich, Switzerland Application July l, 1941, Serial No. 400,670 In Switzerland December lil, 1939 1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in totalizer calculating machines, and in particular those in which the counters are operated by flexible racks, and is distinguished by the following features: y

A coupler in each key column, disposed between the drive bail and the setting rack, releasably connected to the former and fastly secured to the latter; and an automatic zero key control operated by the working crank.

The objects of these two features will become apparent from the following specication, appended claim, and accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a side View of a coupler together with the most important parts of the machine co-operating therewith;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional of the couper, to a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line I-I of Fig. 2;

Fig. fi is a top view of the coupler;

Fig. 5 is a side View of the key control, with the automatic zero key control shown by heavier lines;

Fig. 6 is a front view oi Fig. 5; and

Fig. 6a is a detail of Fig. 6 showing the key lock mechanism, known per se in the art.

The coupler in Figs. l and 2 is stopped by the depressed digit key stem e, and will release the drive bail f in the next moment. The coupler (parts I 9) is secured to the rack a, which is provided with the teeth b to engage the counter c, by means oi the screw il. The coupler com prises a longitudinally grooved base member I and a pawl 2 pivotally mounted therein upon the pin 3. The pawl 2 at one end is provided with an arrow-head Ztl-21), which under the action of the pressure spring 4 engages the bail f through the slot i0, and at the other end 2c is recessed to accommodate the by-pass pawl S-la. The short arm la, is pivotally mounted upon the pin l and its lower edge bears down upon the recessed end 2c oi the pawl 2 under the raction of the pressure spring 8. The degree of engagement between pawl 2 and bail f is controlled by the stop pin 5 mounted in the base member I, The coupler operates as follows: At the beginning of an operating cycle the coupler I--2 is in the iront position shown in Fig. 5 (here locked by the depressed zero key, but released by the depression of a digit key). The bail f now is moved to the rear of the machine in the direction oi the arrow (Figs. l and 2) by crank-operated means not shown. The pawl 6, then, strikes against the depressed stem e of a digit key, the bottom edge ot the arm la rocks the paw] 2 clockwise (Fig. 2) and unhooks it from the bail f. The coupler and the rack a, then, are arrested, while the bail f moves on and-upon continuation of the working cyclereturns to again engage the pawl 2 and to take the coupler and the rack back into their starting position. For each key column there is a bail, a rack and a coupler.

The key lock mechanism detailed in Fig. 6a is known per se in the art, and it shall here but briefly be described,

Each key column is provided with a key locking bar I6 (Figs. 5, 6 and 6c). It is pivoted on its ends upon pins secured in the longitudinal rails i8 and i9, and is actuated by springs I'I to engage with notches of the key stems; each latter having upper and lower notches I5 and I5a. The lock bar normally engages the lower notches of the key stems, and engages the upper notches to hold the keys in set position; the lower notches having each a cam edge |517 acting in the depression of a key to cam the lock bar outwardly to release any other depressed key of the related column; each key having a return spring I4. To limit the stroke of the keys, the lower ends thereof are slotted to engage a guide rail IZa.

The automatic Zero key control is shown in heavier lines in Figs. 5 and 6, and comprises the following iparts: Back of the dO-key stems a universal bar 2U at one end is pivoted on the pin 2l and at the other end secured to a bell lever 23, the fulcruin 22 of which is secured to the casing I3 and lies in the axis of the pin 2i. The springs 25 tend to keep the clear key and the bar 2t in the neutral or elevated position. By depressing the clear key 25, the lower edge 25a of the bar 2t! strikes against the inclined portions of the zero key stems to depress same, upon which they are locked by the bar I6, while all depressed digit keys of the related columns are raised into their neutral or elevated position and locked therein by the latter bar. A straight lever 3! is fulcrumed at 29 in the casing I3 and may rock between two stop pins Sila. Its longer arm is contacted by the tail arm 2l of the bell lever 3 under the action of the spring 2t, while its shorter arm 3I is contacted by the tilt-and-slide shoe 32 which is spring (ttl-supported and fulcrumed at 33 in the horizontal shift bar A tension spring do, at one secured to the casing I3 and at the other end to the bar 3d, tends to pull the latter towards the crank 43 until stopped at the forward end of the slots 31 by the bolts S8 secured to the casing I3. The said slots and bolts also guarantee a horizontal displacement of the bar 34. When the latter has been shifted to the rear, the shoe 32 has moved away from under the lever arm 3| and strikes against the stud pin 36 in the bar 34. The other end of the latter also is provided with a stud pin 4I projecting into the path of the cam 42 which is secured to the crank axle 39. In Fig. 5 the crank 43 with the spring 43a is shown in its inoperative position, in which the pin 42 blocks the bar 34 against the action of the spring in its front terminal position.

The automatic zero key control described operates as follows:

Digit keys are depressed, thereby releasing the zero keys into their elevated position, and the crank pulled forward (see arrow in Fig. 5) through the rst half of the operating cycle. The cam 42 moves to the rear, and the bar 34 is shifted toward the crank by the spring 40 and away from the lever 30. and slides from underneath the arm 3|, upon which it is tilted in the opposite sense by the spring 35 and arrested by the stop 36. During this movement the levers 23 and 33 and the universal bar 20 are at rest, as are also the depressed 1;

The shoe 32 is tilted l stop 30a, thereby swinging the lever 23 clockwise (Fig. 5) to bring the universal bar 20 to bear upon the zero key stems which are depressed and locked by the bar I6y while the set digit keys are restored to and locked in their elevated position, and the couplers and racks blocked in neutral, At this moment the shoe 32 slides 01T the lever arm 3|, and the clear key 25 is restored to neutral by the spring 26. The shoe 32, then, is ready for another Working cycle.

By means of this automatic control of the zero key depressing bar 20 before the termination of each calculating operation I attain a positive clearing of the keyboard and a positive locking of the couplers in their initial position. The couplers are released by the Zero keys only when a value setting is taking place.

The clear key 25, of course, also may be manually depressed independent of the control mechanism described.

What is claimed is:

In a column setting mechanism for calculating machines, a flexible setting rack, a column of digit keys and a zero key, a crank-operated drive bail, and a coupler releasably linking said bail and rack; said coupler comprising a base rail secured to said rack, a pawl pivotally mounted in said rail and at one end adapted to engage with and disengage from the said bail, and a spring-loaded by-pass pawl pivoted in the recessed other end of said first-mentioned pawl and adapted to exert a turning moment thereon when striking against a depressed key stem to release the bail from the coupler.

REN FMC-LE. 

